Original U.S. Colt .38 Special Single Action Army SAA Revolver Made in 1895 with Replaced 5 1/2" Barrel and Cylinder - Serial 162677

Original Item: Only One Available. This is every School boy's dream! A real Cowboy six gun! The Colt Single Action Army Revolver, often referred to as the SAA or M1873, was the first Colt cartridge revolver to see wide acceptance and use, having been developed to meet the needs of the U.S. Government. Dubbed the "Peacemaker", the design is a famous piece of Americana and the American Wild West era, due to its popularity with ranchers, lawmen, and outlaws alike. While Colt has fielded many other designs since its introduction, none have been able to capture the same type of romance, resulting in the design being reissued several times since originally being discontinued.

This fantastic Colt SAA (Single Action Army) Revolver has a "gunfighter friendly" factory-replaced 5 1/2" barrel, along with a brand new replacement cylinder, both for the new .38 Special Chambering, which was originally a black powder cartridge. It is fitted with lovely period replacement hard rubber grips, marked on the top with the Colt "Pony Logo". The revolver was completely refinished and restored in the past, and now retains much of the lovely dark blued finish, which now shows some wear on the muzzle and edges of the recoil shield, probably from long storage in a holster. Really a fantastic looking revolver!

The Colt Single action army's "First Generation" of production spanned over 65 years, from 1873 to 1941. The model was then discontinued in 1941, so they could focus on WWII production and more modern weapons. However, classic Western Themed movies and shows on the new television medium resulted in a huge resurgence of popularity in the design. In 1956 Colt re-launched the "Single Action Army" revolver, in what is referred to as the "Second generation".

As part of this, many owners of older Single Action Army revolvers began sending their older revolvers with worn bores to be rebarreled and restored at the factory. This was more economical than purchasing a new one, and also meant you could have a great shiny revolver that was also "really there" during the "Old West" period. These are somewhat easy to spot, as the "Second Generation" barrels had slightly different address markings, and has a larger "Shark Fin" front sight. They also were marked COLT SINGLE ACTION ARMY in modern print on the left side of the barrel, while the address marking could be on the top or the side.

That is most likely exactly what happened with this revolver, which really is a great example. The revolver's serial number is 162677, which dates production to 1895. It has the serial number on the frame, trigger guard, and grip frame, making this an "ALL MATCHING" example. 1883 was the last year that serial numbers would be stamped on the cylinder until 1912, so the lack of the serial number there is correct. There is also assembly number 342 marked on the loading gate. It is in full working order and condition, with a great look, sure to delight any "Old West" Americana collector.

The original single line Colt address marking on the top of the barrel is still fully legible, correct for this length barrel:

COLT'S PT. F. A. MFG. CO. HARTFORD, CT. U. S. A.

The left side of the frame has the Colt patent dates all clearly legible:

PAT. SEPT. 19. 1871.
JULY. 2.72. JAN. 19.75.

These are the correct later pattern markings, and to the right is the correct Colt "Prancing Pony" logo on the frame, introduced in 1891. The left side of the barrel is clearly marked COLT SINGLE ACTION ARMY .38 SPECIAL, indicating it is made for the .38 Special cartridge, originally designed as a black powder improvement over .38 "Long" Colt. The cartridge was later available with smokeless powder, but continued to be produced with black powder well into the 20th century, which is when this revolver was rebarreled. This revolver was NOT designed to use .38 Special with smokeless powder, ONLY black powder.

The revolver really looks great, still retaining much of the reblued finish, showing wear on the sides from storage in a holster for a long period of time. The grips are in great shape, showing light wear, and have just a bit of chipping around the bottom, and a chunk missing from the left front toe. This will make a great addition to any collection!

Mechanically, the action is smooth, with a strong cylinder lock up, and strong main spring. The action has all four clicks, and we did not notice any major finicky behavior during cycling, as we often would on a revolver from this time period. The only thing noted was that the "loading" position is a bit close to the frame, so the cylinder does not spin as freely as it should. As with all revolvers of this age we recommend being very gentle with cycling it, so we do not recommend "fanning" or "fan firing". The bore is in truly excellent condition, with a bright finish and crisp lands and grooves, looking to have seen little to no use since being restored and converted. The ejector rod is present and works great, with no sticking or other issues.

Pistols such as this are extremely difficult to find today at any reasonable price. This lovely restored is just ideal for any Wild West Collection. A great collector's revolver, ready to display!

Specifications:

Year of Manufacture: 1895
Caliber: .38 Special
Ammunition Type: Centerfire Cartridge
Barrel Length: 5 1/2 inches
Overall Length: 11 inches
Action: Single Action
Feed System: 6 Shot Revolver

History of the Colt Single Single Action Army

Bound by the Rollin White patent (#12,648, April 3, 1855) and not wanting to pay a royalty fee to Smith & Wesson, Colt could not begin development of bored-through revolver cylinders for metallic cartridge use until April 4, 1869. For the design, Colt turned to two of its best engineers: William Mason and Charles Brinckerhoff Richards who had developed a number of revolvers and black powder conversions for the company. Their effort was designed for the United States government service revolver trials of 1872 by Colt's Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company and adopted as the standard military service revolver. Production began in 1873 with the Single Action Army model 1873, also referred to as the "New Model Army Metallic Cartridge Revolving Pistol".

The very first production Single Action Army, serial number 1, thought lost for many years after its production, was found in a barn in Nashua, New Hampshire in the early 1900s. It was chambered in .45 Colt, a centerfire design containing charges of up to 40 grains (2.6 g) of fine-grained black powder and a 255-grain (16.5 g) blunt roundnosed bullet. Relative to period cartridges and most later handgun rounds, it was quite powerful in its full loading.

The Colt Single Action Army revolver, along with the 1870 and 1875 Smith & Wesson Model 3 "Schofield" revolver, replaced the Colt 1860 Army Percussion revolver. The Colt quickly gained favor over the S&W and remained the primary US military sidearm until 1892 when it was replaced by the .38 Long Colt caliber Colt Model 1892, a double-action revolver with swing-out cylinder. By the end of 1874, serial no. 16,000 was reached; 12,500 Colt Single Action Army revolvers chambered for the .45 Colt cartridge had entered service and the remaining revolvers were sold in the civilian market.

The Colt .45 is a famous piece of American history, known as "The Gun That Won the West". The Single Action army is a very popular firearm, even today, and it continues to be produced in various configurations.